i'M In a Love Triangle
by Cornpuffs
Summary: Freddie's stuck. When both Carly and Sam seem to be growing closer to him, he comes to the conclusion that he's starting to fall for both of them. post-iCarly awards, Seddie vs. Creddie
1. i'M Stuck

Hi! Had this idea. Wanted to write it. Sam's probably my favorite character, because I enjoy meat, sarcasm, and abuse of little nerdlings. Of course, I'm a nerdling myself... but I guess every writer on this site's got a little nerd in 'em, yeah?

Disclaimer: Don't own. Though I am working on becoming a screenplay writer. So even if it isn't iCarly I work on, I could work with DanWarp one day!

- - - - - - -

i'M In A Love Triangle

- - - - - - -

So he's siting there, on the fire escape. Usually at this time of the day, he's with Carly and Sam. If this week had been anything like any other week, any other week than last week, that would probably be where he would be.

Freddie relaxed in his chair, leaning back as sighed.

Two weeks ago, he was running around the Shay apartment, trying to avoiding revealing his, no, _their, _secret to an angry Carly. A week after that, He was dancing with the girl he'd had feelings for since... good gravy, it had been like forever to him. That was Friday.

The Saturday right after was the ultimate calm before the storm. The iCarly Awards were almost peaceful, so, when Sunday hit, when she kissed him, when they both kissed him....

Last time Carly and Sam fought, he had sorted it out, fixed it... He'd done it for both of them, because Missy wasn't Sam, and knew that Sam was better for Carly. And when Sam had come to him, not to Carly, Spencer, Wendy, but to him...

He'd grown fond of both girls. Carly and Sam were everything to him. He had been there for Carly, doing whatever she asked. It used to be because of his massive stalker-crush. As he matured, so did his attitude. He'd stopped annoying her, became her friend, and found himself all the more happier for it. But he knew something was still there the whole time, because anytime Carly came close to him, or gave him a compliment, he still felt his heart beating faster than his mom running through a garbage dump.

And Sam... he hated Sam. He loved Sam. Hate, love, hate, love, hate, love... it was always a cycle with the two of them. It was a game of tag that he had never played with anyone before. Once he learned the rules, they grew as friends. The pranks became... well, they were always vicious, but oftentimes, he found himself laughing at them later. Okay, chuckling was more of an appropriate response. And when the two of them put their minds together, Freddie's genius and Sam's cunning, they got whatever needed to be done, done. No matter the cost. And ever sense the event-that-must-not-be-named, Freddie found himself staring at Sam more and more, and smiling every time they got into an argument.

They were both pretty, he thought, as memories of the last month went through his mind. Carly had a cuter personality, was smart, charming, and funny. She was much more... maidenly than the fierce blonde. Sam was rude, loud, and aggressive, but Freddie also knew her other side. The Sam he knew that was underneath the Sam others knew was a bit insecure about herself. Freddie wasn't dumb. Jonah was... dare he say it, an arse. And seeing all those guys lined up for Carly when apparently she couldn't even get Gibby probably hurt her a lot.

Freddie had debated asking her, just so they can go and watch people dance around like idiots together, as friends. Yeah, he knew it was a Girl's Choice, but he knew Sam, and Sam didn't ask guys out. Now, she'd do whatever she could to get them to ask her out, but she wouldn't do it herself.

But, when he saw how adamant Sam was about _not_ wanting to go, he dropped the train of thought.

"I should have asked her anyway, but then... I wouldn't have danced with Carly..." Fredward muttered to himself.

Everything was so confusing. Well, not completely confusing. He knew the problem. He liked both of his best friends. Seeing them both dressed up in their outfit for the Awards had taken his breath away.

Carly, in her red dress, looking sweet and innocent, but beautiful... she looked amazing and she knew it, but stayed levelheaded the whole time.

Sam, in that blue dress... he'd never really noticed before, but she had really nice curves. And the fishnet had him nearly drooling into the camera. But she wasn't showing off. He could see a bit of uncertainty in her eyes about the getup. It made her look girly, in her opinion, and therefore weak. And something about the way she carried herself made him think that she was faking being happy. But God, she had never been so attractive to Freddie before.

Both of them had kissed him. That Sunday felt like another time ago. And he had no idea what he was going to do. He knew he liked both of them, equally. And he was pretty sure that the fact that they had kissed him meant that they had liked him.

He had kinda zoned out, not really paying attention to anything but his own thoughts. He couldn't believe the irony of the situation, nor how much it sounded like a bad teen soap opera or what not. It was how it was happening, though. Freddie sighed in frustration, but drew back in his breath sharply.

His PearPod Feel was on, and it was playing a song.

"_Running Away._.. that's funny. If Sam knew what was going on in my mind right now, she'd laugh. Then, break my arm for even thinking about_ it_."

Realizing he wasn't talking to anyone but to himself, he laughed bitterly, and just listened to the song, and felt the phantom tingle on his lips where Sam's had been a few months ago. He sat back, and sighed again. The next song just proved that the higher power was messing with him, because the opening piano sounds of _Meant for Me_ started playing.

The tingle in his lips were joined by the feel of Carly's body in his arms, the feeling of her soft head on his shoulders.

Freddie Benson growled, and his frustration was growing. Not because he wasn't enjoying reliving the happiest moments of his life, but because he was so lost.

He mused that most guys would like this position. Carly and Sam were popular, smart, funny, pretty, and probably the best two girls in Seattle. He knew guys had envied him before, when they weren't trying to use him to get to either girl.

Sabotaging the speed dating wasn't the first time he had managed to screw up a chance for Carly- or Sam, for that matter- to get a nice guy. It was petty of him, but in a way, he felt like they were his. Not to sound macho or anything. He just looked out for the two girls, and didn't want them to get hurt.

And now?

Now, he was stuck. Because he knew for a fact that someone was going to get hurt in the long run.


	2. iGuess I Should Start From the Beginning

Wow! It's been up for less than a day, and Seddie/Creddie shippers are already staking their claims on the pairings. Hahaha. I don't know what to tell any of you. Rest assured, just like a good episode of iCarly, hopefully I can provide all of you with a bit of your favorite pairing. But, that's enough blathering on my part. More of it can be found on the bottom of the chapter.

- - - - - -

Chapter 1: iGuess I Should Start From the Beginning

- - - - - -

Freddie sighed once again, as he listened to his PearPod. Where had all of this started? It had been Sunday, he knew. It felt like so long ago. So much had happened to him. Maybe if he went through and tried to remember everything... maybe he'd get his answer.

It was a better idea than his pie-camera, anyway.

"Sunday.... yep, I guess that's where this started..." Freddie said, as things came rushing back to him.

- - -

Sunday, Day 1 of The Mess

- - -

"Sunday..." I sighed, waking up on my stomach, head shoved in the pillows. With a grunt, I rolled over and got out of bed. It was 7:03 AM, looking a the alarm clock.

Great. That means Carly won't be awake for another couple of hours. She always sleeps through half the day on Sundays. Is it sad that I pretty much know her schedule by heart? I mean, really... I guess that was kinda creepy to her, which explains a lot.

With a chuckle, I started stretching. Ever since I started fencing, I'd gotten a bit more athletic. Where playing tennis had kept me in shape, fencing had gotten me ripped, at least compared to how I was when I started filming iCarly.

I still couldn't overpower Sam, though. Oh well...

Once I started feeling limber, I went onto my workout. It was mostly a bit of cardio and a strength training regimen that focused on my arms. When I was done with that, I grabbed my foil... you know, my fencing sword? Getting into my opening position, I began fencing. I usually imagined myself fighting someone skilled, dodging and weaving imaginary blows, but not getting any in of my own.

This is what I do everyday, when I wake up and when I go to sleep.I generally go on for an hour, two hours if I'm angry or feeling energetic.

Today's workout was only an hour and a half, which was good enough for me. I grabbed my special ham tshirt, a pair of blue jeans, socks, boxers, and went to my bathroom to shower. It's strangely quiet this morning, but I don't pay it any mind. My mom's a Nurse Practitioner, and she's probably at work. She's really good at it. Heck, even some of the doctors come to her for medical advice when they can't figure it 's what makes her so paranoid. You see, she's done a lot of work in NICU and Pediatrics. I've seen her come home absolutely torn up because they lost a patient. She says that she doesn't want anything to happen to me, which is why I'm subjected to tick baths (one baby had gotten a tick on her and got a viral infection that killed her) and the anti-bacterial underwear. Well, she's eased off on a lot of things... she only makes me take a tick bath once a month instead of once a week now. And I don't have to sign a contract to show her I shampoo'd twice anymore. As I shower, I listen to the water running, hitting my body and the walls of the shower. It gets me relaxed, and then I start thinking. The iCarly Awards were over, and the party we had, which was really just a trip down to the Groovy Smoothie with the winners, Spencer, the photographer, and the models was quite fun. T-Bo was there, running the counter with the new guy. I think his name is Jack. They didn't care when 12 European Swimsuit models showed up wearing just their swimsuits.

That's the cool thing about T-Bo. As long as it's him in charge, he's pretty chill. Especially during the late hours. His only problem was that he had very... odd tastes in food combinations.

I'd like to say things weren't awkward between me and Carly. It kinda confused me, because she was the one that pulled herself closer to me when we were dancing, but last night she made me stay... half a foot away from her? Something like that. Well, things weren't awkward for her. They were for me.

Sam just seemed distant the entire time. I couldn't even get her started up in a fight. I asked Carly about it, and she didn't even know what was going on. She said something about Sam's "Aunt Flo" probably making a visit, and I nodded my head in understanding. If that was the case, then I'd best leave her alone. I've seen her do terrible things during her monthly visits.

With a chuckle, I remembered what she did to Rueben once. She gave him a wedgie so fierce, it ripped his underwear. She had almost stretched the garment over his head, too. Personally, I thought it a new record for her. I was just relieved that it was him, and not me, hitting a higher octave as he spoke.

Wait a minute...

Sam wasn't fighting with anyone, or making anyone's life miserable...The only time I had seen her with the expression she had at the party was when Missy was trying to replace her, when she came to me that night, came to me and me alone.

She wasn't on her period. She was depressed. I guess she really hadn't gotten over the speed date crap, and I felt a pang of guilt. I guess it was partly my fault, that she didn't have a date. My train of thought was interrupted by the water suddenly getting colder. I had been so deep in thought, the hot water had run out.

"Darn it... I hate washing my hair in cold water..."

I did, though, and got out and dried off. I dress myself, style my hair, and brush my teeth. My toothbrush is awesome. My mom had an orthodontist custom make it to fit my hand perfectly and to reach in all the parts of my mouth. It was electric, and it produced sonic waves that pretty much destroyed all the bad germs in my mouth. Even if she was a bit crazy when it came to my health and hygiene, it was nice to have some of the cooler things that she gave me.

It was still a bit early, so I went on and checked my email. You see, I run another website, where I give tech advice to people. I also offered a repair service, which was how I made enough money to replace all of the things Sam destroyed. Like a pair of shoes I had that probably had cost more than every piece of clothing on her. Except maybe her bra. She and Carly shop at Build-A-Bra, which I think is kinda expensive. I understood why they went there instead of a less...specialized store. Build-A-Bra was expensive because they were the best. The bras there were made to fit perfectly and they last a long time. The only reason I knew that was because, let's face it, my only real guy-pals were Spencer and Gibby. Well, there used to be Shane, but he kept his distance from me now, after what Carly and Sam did to him.

I don't blame him. Sometimes, I wish it were that easy for me to get away from them. Don't get me wrong. I loved the girls to death, but I'd had quite a fair bit of trouble in my life because of my friendship with them. Like the grade changing incident, or when I went to detention for the first time.

I frowned. There wasn't much on my site that I hadn't taken care of already, and my email showed no job offers. The quiet of my house was unsettling, especially after the loud night I had before. And without my mom there, I had nothing to really do and no one to talk to, except myself. I grabbed my pearpod and my headphones, then headed over to Carly's.

--

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

--

Freddie shook his head.

"Man, I should've just stayed home. I wouldn't be having this problem..." he said.

After all, how was he supposed to know that Spencer was gone that morning? The technology-gifted teen sighed heavily, when Papa Roach's _Forever _started playing. Freddie facepalmed out of reaction, and more memories flooded back to him.

- - -

Sunday, Day 1 of The Mess

- - -

It was now about 9 o'clock. If Carly wasn't awake, she would be soon, and it wouldn't be the first time Carly had come down the stairs to see me sitting on the couch, watching tv, playing on my laptop, listening to music, or a various combination of the three.

I walked in the door, finding it strangely unlocked. It was only unlocked when they were gone, but I could have sworn I heard the sounds of tv.

"Hey Carly! Spencer! Let me in, oops, already did that myself."

Carly was sitting on the couch, dressed for the day and everything. She looked at me and then rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Spencer woke me up earlier today. Said something about Harry Joiner being back in Seattle and a sculpture of a banjo made from banjos. So he made me breakfast and left," she explained, seeing the surprised look on my face. I guess she knew that I knew her usual schedule on Sundays.

"Ah. That would explain it."

I sat down on the opposite end of the couch. Like I've said a dozen times before, I've given up being all pushy and dramatic when it comes to getting Carly to notice me. I think she appreciates it.

The tv is on a commercial,but it's easy to recognize the channel. It's the Dingo Channel. I look at Carly, wh's watching the commercial intently. I don't particularly care. It's another one of those Serena Cortez commercials where she talks about her music and stuff. I don't particularly enjoy her music. It's too much like the last four hundred Dingo Channel Stars. She's got a great voice though, and she's really pretty. I could be wrong. She might actually make a name for herself, unlike a certain redheaded girl they produced.

Well, she made a name for herself, but not the kind I'm talking about.

I stared at Serena, toning out her voice.

_"She's not the only pretty girl that can sing well,"_ I thought, looking back at Carly.

She and I had gotten a few of our classmates together and helped her come up with a few songs. I recorded the songs, our band played, and she sang. She sang, and it was like hearing an angel. A few of the songs were posted on iCarly. We'd even made music videos to them. Not crappy ones, either, but top notch stuff, like we did for that... that bloody hobknocker!

Which, by the way, is both disgusting and illegal.

I chuckled a bit, causing Carly to look at me.

"What's so funny?"

I crack a smile. I can't help it.

"I was just thinking about Wade Collins and his weird hobknocking ways."

Carly laughed, and I joined her. After a couple of minutes, she looked back at me.

"What for?" she asked. I guess it was odd, coming out of nowhere with that. I wasn't sure how to explain it without sounding like a fanboy for Carly. I did my best to tiptoe around doing that, letting her know that I was still interested without coming on to her so strongly. I decide on honesty, though, and say what I feel.

"I was just thinking that Serena isn't the only person in the world to sing. You're really good yourself, you know? I was just letting my mind wander, thinking about your songs, and then your music videos that we made, which led me to Wade," I said.

Carly raised an eyebrow at me, and shrugged. We both turned to the tv. It was a marathon of a show called Sunny With A Chance. It was about the guy named Chance from Kansas who won a contest or something to appear in a tv show. It was kinda funny. The twins on there were hilarious, if a bit lame, and the little girl reminded me a little of Sam. Chance had a love triangle going on between his brunette co-star and the leading blond actress from a teen soap opera that filmed next to their stdio. It was kinda obvious that he was going more towards the brunette, but he had a lot more chemistry with the blond. They fought a lot with each other, but you could tell what they really felt.

I kinda felt a little dorky. I mean, I was analyzing tv show characters and their love lives. I didn't say anything, but it was like Carly read my mind.

"Poor Chance. Caitlyn likes him a lot, but that soap opera woman just takes away from their relationship."

I thought a moment. It wasn't random, but a debate was still a debate. I had to prepare myself.

"Yeah, but Sara and Chance are a lot of fun to watch. They've got a lot more chemistry. I do see your point though. Even though Caitlyn rejected him most of the first and second season, now that she's realized how great he is to her... still she did reject him a lot. That kinda makes a guy uneasy. And he and Sara have been growing closer since the second episode. I never saw their kiss coming, though. I mean, they weren't even arguing, but talking like human beings!"

Carly nodded her head.

"Still, I think this episode's kinda cute. Chance and Caitlyn have a really close moment together. I mean, they both get bad dates to that movie premiere, and when they both head down to _Cold Rock_ to get ice cream, they're the only ones there and they both start dancing with each other."

I blinked.

Holy cheese.

Thinking about it, Dingo seemed to be stealing from us again. Because that was almost a complete copy of my life. As I got deeper in my thoughts, I didn't notice Carly scooting closer to me. I did notice, however, when she put her head on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Freddie."

My heart was beating fast. I kept my calm, though.

"For?"

"For dancing with me the other night. It meant a lot. You're always there for me when I need you to be, no matter what."

I smiled, and forced my heartbeat to slow.

"Like I said, you deserved a dance with someone you didn't want to kill."

I couldn't see her face that well, but as I looked down, I saw what looked like the corners of a smile.

"You deserved a dance with someone who was glad to have you there with her."

I wanted to shrug, to say that it's what any friend would have done. Things felt weird. I kinda wanted to get up, but another part of me told me to stay put.

"It wasn't a big deal. It was a girl's choice night, and that meant it was your night. You needed something happy to happen," I said modestly. See? I hardly ever take credit where it's due. I like to help my friends, and I don't like all the gratitude and stuff. I didn't do it for the gratitude or an owed favor, I helped because it was what was right to do. Giving up a cruise to save iCarly, to see Sam smile again? I'd give up a hundred cruises. Give up over two hundred hours of my personal time just to program a website and make programs and film a webshow? I'd do a thousand more hours if that meant Carly could be happy.

This was a side of Carly I had rarely seen. She complimented me often, as she was thankful for my hard work, but this was downright flattery.

It was nice.

"You're a nice guy, Freddie."

I know. I always have been. Well, not always... there's a darker side of my personality, but even my dark side is strangely nice.

"I guess."

She turned her head and looked at me. I looked at her brown eyes, and for some strange reason, they were getting closer. I felt my head tilt and lean in as well. We both met each other's eyes... we were both hesitating.

Our lips touched, our eyes closed, and seven or eight seconds felt like seven or eight lifetimes.

She pulled away, or maybe I did. I wasn't sure. I blinked a couple times, and cleared my throat.

Carly just put her head back on my shoulder, without a word.

- - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - -

Freddie touched his lips as Papa Roach's _Forever _went off.

"I still can't believe she did that. That I did that."

The tech wizard leaned back in his chair.

"Of course, I can't believe what Sam and I did later, either..."

- - - - - - -

Well, proud Seddie warriors and whatever you Creddie fans call yourselves... that was chapter one! Now, I know this seems like a Creddie story right now, but I do hope that the Seddiers will read the next chapter just because I tried to leave a cliff hanger to entice ya'll.

Give this story a chance. No matter what pairing you people defend, be it Seddie or Creddie, you'll find something in this story. You'll see plenty of both. Freddie calls it "The Mess" because that's what he's in right now. He's growing up, feeling things that are new to him, and he's handling them in the levelheaded way he tries to handle everything, even if he sometimes fails. At this point of the story, Carly's had to deal with the fact that her relationships have been few and they haven't been great. And when she and Freddie are by themselves at the Groovy Smoothie, when they're just being friends, and Freddie starts being sweet, she starts realizing how nice he's been and she starts liking him.

The kiss in this chapter may seem out of nowhere, but Carly's been known to be someone to act quickly when attracted to someone, to get things going between them. Best example of that is Griffin.

Anyways, review and wait patiently for the next chapter. Next time, I'll give you some of my insight on what's going on in Sam's mind during this point in time.


	3. iSpeak Of It Again

All right, chapter three! Well, two plus the prologue. But fanfiction says it's chapter three, and we'll go with that! And with it comes great news! Just like Danwarp, Cornpuffs tweets! I just set up a myspace and a twitter account so you all can contact me and stuff. Just go to my profile and check 'em out! Anyways, the majority of this chapter has Seddie all over it. Have at it, mighty Seddie Warriors. And for the Creddiers, I have explained everything in this chapter's bottom of the page rant. With all that said, have fun and add me on your myspace, yeah?

- -

Chapter 2: iSpeak Of It Again

- -

Freddie looked at his phone, checking the time.

"It's almost time for the next iCarly... ah, who am I kidding? There's three hours before I even have to be there and another hour til we go on..."

A part of him desired to just get up and go somewhere, to take his $8 a month and get whatever bus ticket he could to get out of this. In all of his 15 years, he'd never had this much trouble.

A bitter sigh came out the boy's lips. He knew he couldn't leave. It was cowardly, and cowardly was just something he didn't do. Unless it involved Sam Puckett chasing him with something blunt and/or dangerous.

Now that his mind was on Sam, his thoughts went back to his problem at hand, where he was trying to figure what to do about Carly and Sam.

Sitting back into his chair, he began to think.

- - - - -

Sunday, Day 1 of The Mess

- - - - -

Carly Shay kissed me. CARLY KISSED ME! HOLY CRAP! CARLY SHAY KISSED ME!

And I couldn't say a word. I don't think she could either. She just sat there, resting that beautiful head on my shoulder.

It wasn't like what I had ever thought. I had always imagined that it would have been on a date. Maybe at a movie theater, or on a farris wheel. Never had I thought it was going to be sitting on Spencer's couch, watching the Dingo Channel.

Speaking of which, I need to find out that they aren't stealing my thoughts and using them for their show like they did with iCarly.

The jerks. THOSE HOBKNOCKERS!

Hahahaha... I'm giddy.

Carly gets off of me, and checks her phone.

"Freddie! Sam's coming over!"

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She was acting like nothing had happened. Not for the first time, I realized just how much alike Sam and Carly could be.

"Ooookay... I'll prepare the weapons and fortify our defenses. The mighty blond dragon shall never penetrate these walls!"

And a familiar voice answered from behind me.

"Better a dragon than a dork, Freddoofus. "

Carly smiled at her best friend as she sat down on the couch. I didn't. Mainly because she was pushing on me.

"Move it, Benson."

"I was here first, Puckett!"

"Ah, but I'm older AND I've been Carly's friend longer. So I was here first."

"Not today you werEN'T!" I shouted back at her as she finally pushed me down. Unluckily for me, I landed on my hands and knees, and as I went to push myself up, I felt weight put itself on my back.

"Sam! I'm not a footrest!"

"But you're finally good for something!"

I looked at Carly with a plea for help in my eyes. Her expression was unreadable, but if I squinted, it seemed like she had a slight blush.

"Sam, let him up. Freddie'll get a bad back and then he wouldn't be a good footrest anymore!"

The blond looked at Carly, then sighed.

"Oh, all right."

The weight came off, and I stood up, brushing myself off. I sat down on the recliner, and looked at them.

"So, ladies, what are we doing for today?"

Carly looked over at me, and then averted her eyes.

"I guess we can go shopping, and when we get done, come back and start working on the show."

Sam shrugged, and I sighed. Great. Another trip to Build-a-Bra.

"Sounds like a plan," I said. Man, I have to learn how to shut up.

The trip to the mall was uneventful. We took a bus there. I went to sit with Carly, but as always, Sam pushed me away and sat down next to the girl that had kissed me not even an hour ago. It's like she knew and she was purposely trying to make my life miserable today! I mean, me and Carly were having a moment, and she had to interrupt!

Calm down Freddie. You're just paranoid that she's up to something. Well, then again, she's always up to something, but there's no way she saw you kissing Carly. I just wondered if she was going to keep it a secret like Sam and I did. I mean, she was the one that threw the fit when she found out we had kept _it_ a secret from her.

Why did I even care? Sam wasn't interested in me. We were friends, just friends that had kissed each other one time to get it over with.I'll admit, she's a great friend and she's pretty, but it would never work out between us.

We'd argue too much. Yes, I have thought about this.

When we arrived at Pacific Place Mall, we got up and off the bus. I was first, Sam and Carly following behind Place was the biggest mall in Seattle, and as the three of us lined up side by side, I looked at the two.

"Off we go?" I questioned, despair in my voice as I had to go get subjected to what guy friends fear the most. Shopping.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't mind shopping. I will admit to spending several hours in a mall, looking at books, magazines, clothes, video games, music, and all of that. It was when I was dragged to the girl stores that made me uncomfortable. And the minute I saw the first store, Girl's Place, with it's sky blue sign and it's pink flowery emblem... I groaned, as I felt two sets of arms grab me and pull me along.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie chuckled as he remembered the mall trip. Even though at the beginning, all he could think about was Carly's lips on his, by the end of it all, it had felt like an usual day. Sam attacking him, him flirting with Carly, and Carly keeping Sam from killing him.

Or at least, it's how things were going until lunchtime.

Freddie looked at his PearPod. _Gives You Hell_? Yeah, All-American Rejects wold fit for this part of the day.

- - - - - -

Sunday, Day 1 of The Mess

- - - - - -

We sat at a table in the middle of the food court. I think I read somewhere that when you were famous, people would recognize your face from somewhere, but they wouldn't know who you were. It seemed to be true. People'd stare at me with odd looks all over the mall.

Of course, the numerous and massive shopping bags i had been toting around until now probably got a lot of attention. Which is why you should never leave Carly and Sam $800. Her dad liked to send money to Carly every week, and she liked to save it for a while and spend it on one massive shopping trip. Sam usually spent Carly's money, or mine, if she didn't have her own. Which was weird, because shopping trips were the only time she had a lot of money to spare, and I had no clue where it came then, I don't know much about Sam's home life, besides the fact that her mom's about the same as her, wears a lot of bikinis, and dates a new guy every one to two weeks, if that long.

We were all deciding where to eat, when Carly's ringtone started playing. It was the song we played for Random Dancing, and both Sam and I started wiggling in our seats until Carly answered.

"Hello? Hey Spencer! Yeah, I'm at the mall with Freddie and Sam. No, I haven't spent all my money, just most of it. Yes. Aww, poor baby ducks...What? Oh, it was a sculpture? Okay. Alright... Love you too, Spencer! Bye!"

Sam and I looked at each other, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

_Baby ducks?_

Carly put her phone back in her purse.

"Spencer needs me home. Grandpa's coming up for a quick visit. He's on his way to Alaska to go run a it sad that a seventy year old man is more athletic than we are?"

I nodded, so did Sam. She looked at Carly, then shrugged.

"Guess we're going home?"

She sounded a bit disappointed, but Carly smiled.

"You can shop with Freddie, can't you?"

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Shop with him? I'd rather shop with Gibby!"

A mean thought run through my head and I almost let it out. I might have to save that one for later.

"I'd rather shop with Mandy!"

"I'd rather shop with the convicts that duct-taped us together!"

"I'd rather shop with the convicts that you're related to!"

"I'd rather shop with your crazy mom, Benson!"

"I'd rather shop with YOUR crazy mom, Puckett!"

"I'd rather shop with- hey, where'd Carly go?"

I stopped arguing and looked around. Apparently, while we were arguing, Carly had taken the bags that had the things she had bought and left. She'd been acting awfully weird since that kiss this morning. Did she not like it? Did she only do it because she was in the moment? GAH! SHE HAD ME SO CONFUSED!

Sam sat there, contemplating her next move. I could see it in her eyes. With a bright, devlish smile, she grabbed me while I gathered the couple things she had bought, and drug me into Johnny Rockets.

Johnny Rockets was an All-American food establishment. It was kind of like going back in time to a 1950's malt shop. Every table had a jukebox that only cost a nickle. It was a pretty snazzy place, I guess. We both ordered a peppy cola to start the meal off.

"Sooo.... Sam.... how have ya been?" I asked, feeling kinda lame.

She tilted her head, analyzing my tone of voice, the words I said, my expression... she was a lioness, picking out her prey. I saw her mouth open, and prepared for the lioness to pounce, but...

It didn't happen.

"I've been alright, I guess. You?"

_"I've been confused, but I just had a kiss with the girl I've been wanting to kiss for years."_

_"_I've been good, Sam. You gonna get the usual?" I replied, forcing the thought out of my mind. I couldn't be mad at Sam for coming between me and Carly. It wasn't fair to her.

Wait, when did I ever care about what was fair for Sam?

Oh.

Yeah.

When I kissed her, and when I gave up a chance of a lifetime just to see her happy. That was when.I pushed that thought out of my mind, as well, and instead focused on the menu.

"Yeah. How about you?"

Sam, nothing about to day has been usual. Carly was awake before noon on a Sunday, I kissed her on the couch first thing this morning, and now, I'm hanging out with you. By your choice. That's completely abnormal. And we're not even fighting. We're carrying on, like two human beings.

Mine and Carly's conversation about Chance, Caitlyn, and Sara went through my mind.

_"I never saw their kiss coming, though. I mean, they weren't even arguing, but talking like human beings!"_

Last time me and Sam talked for real, our friendship made this weird turn, and I didn't know if it was a good turn or a bad turn.

"Oi! Fredwierd! Are you getting what you normally get?"

Oh yeah...

I'm supposed to be ordering. Good thing she said that, because the waiter was back.

"Yeah. So, a pound of fries, two rocket doubles, and a chocolate milkshake, right? And I'll be having the Grilled Chicken Breast, a small order of fries, and a chocolate milk shake." The waiter looked dumbfounded. Of course, anytime Sam, Carly, and I went out to eat, she always surprised the server. He nodded.

"How would you like your meat cooked, mam?"

Sam thought for a moment. The girl loved her meat, but after that raw meat incident, she was kinda paranoid about eating something that was more or less still alive.

"Medium Well."

I nodded.

"That'll be it right now!"

Sam waved bye at the waiter, who went to give out ticket to the cooks. She turned around and looked at me.

"So, I was thinking that we could do another Wake Up Spencer segment, or an iDriveThru..."

I mulled it over. Wake Up Spencer's were fun, but a bit hard to do because it required being up extra early, and iDriveThru segments were kinda hard to write. But, then, Sam helped me write Wake Up Spencer material.

"Wake Up Spencer. We haven't done that in a while, and it always brightens my day to see you first thing in the morning."

Thing was? I was being sincere. She didn't take it that way, though.

"It doesn't do me good to see you that early, either, but Carly's next to impossible to wake up. So I have to do it with you."

"Gee. Sorry I can't be as handsome as Pete or Jonah."

Her eyes narrowed.

"At least guys I liked were interested in me. Valerie just wanted you for your nerdiness and Carly'll never love you."

I didn't back down.

"Who said I wanted Carly to love me?"

Wait, what was I saying? Of course I wanted Carly to love me! But I had to win this argument. Even if it was a lie.

"You do, dorkface. Every time you see her, all you do is kiss the ground she walks on."

Wait...It came to me.

"I didn't know that she walked on your face."

Sam's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.

I smiled slightly. I'd won that round.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie smiled widely, like the Chesire Cat.

He'd rarely ever win an argument with Sam. She either got him in a corner that he couldn't back out of, assaulted him, or would just go to a lower level than he would. He didn't really consider _it _to be a low blow. And the best part? She didn't get angry and leave when he said it.

- - - - - -

Sunday, Day 1 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Sam just looked at me. Her jaw closed, and she nodded her head.

"Wow, Benson. That was actually a good comeback. I've taught you well, little nerdling."

I laughed. I felt a good bit of tension leave my shoulders that I hadn't even noticed.

"What can I say? I've learned from the best. Mama plays to win, and so does Papa."

I was a genius. Even though by saying I was Papa, I was more or less saying that I was married to her. Who cares, though? I'd won the fight. And to top it off, our food was finally here!

Nothing really interesting happened during lunch. We caught up on different things, talked about iCarly, and what the Dingo Channel had premiering this weekend. Which lead to Sunny With a Chance.

Apparently, the new episode was supposed to be where Caitlyn finds out that Chance and Sara kissed during the last sounded awfully dramatic, and awfully familiar.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Sara and Chance are funnier together than Caitlyn and Chase. Their fights are so thrilling to watch. And it's really funny to see them put their heads together. I mean, they hate each other one minute, and when faced with a problem, they come together so well and they fix it!"

Damn. She'd taken the side of Cara. I had to defend Chaitlyn, then.

"Chance really liked Caitlyn for a long time. Even before the show, he had a fanboy crush on her. I'll admit that she blew him off for a while, but it was because he was trying to hard to impress her. I mean, he gave up on a leading role in another show to stay with her. Even if she didn't love him through most of the last two seasons, the last few episodes have really changed things."

Sam didn't let it drop, though.

"Screw that. She had her chance for a while. I think her big issue is that Caitlyn doesn't want to lose the worship she gets from Chance. Once he breaks off whatever you call their relationship and goes to Caitlyn, it'll be right back to normal, except you'll have a heartbroken Sara.I mean, did you see her face when she saw them dancing in that ice cream parlor? I didn't know she cared that much until then. I mean, she couldn't even get the twins to show up with her, and those guys are even more pathetic than you, Benson."

That's when it hit me. That's why Sam had been so upset...

She had seen the dance.

The rest of the meal went in silence. I payed for the meal, she put down a small tip, and we left. My hands, of course, were full of the bags Sam had filled. Thankfully, Carly and Sam had already raided Build-A-Bra. While I can't claim to be the most masculine guy on the planet, that'd even make me feel uncomfortable.

Of course, there was always that nagging little voice in my head that said how much fun it could be if it were just me and Sam.

Stupid, hopknocking nagging little voice in my head. GAH!

We left the mall, without me getting a single thing of course, and rode the bus back to Bushwell Plaza. We sat in silence, though the whole bus was chattery. Sam leaned back, and closed her eyes. I guess she was trying to relax. And with her eyes shut, she wouldn't see me staring.

Carly would be cute forever. I had seen a picture of her mom, and while her mom wasn't the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, she was adorable. The thing with Carly was that she was as beautiful on the outside as she was on the inside.

Sam... confused the heck out of me. She was more fit than Carly, and being honest with myself, she definitely had the better body. She had inner beauty, but it was protected by an ugly, nearly unbreakable mask. And she had a simple beauty about her. She hardly ever wore makeup, but she had it applied perfectly. The thing was, it was too perfect and that was one other mystery that I couldn't solve about despised all things girly, but I've seen her pick makeup that worked perfectly on Carly. She knew how much to apply and where to apply it for the best effects.

It was the small things that made me realize one more thing that made Carly and Sam different. Carly was an open book. Sam was a book with a diary lock, wrapped in chains, put in a locked box, which was set in a safe, which was then put in a bank vault, which was then put in a giant hole and covered with tons of concrete. And then, there'd be twelve angry, rabid, and starving lions guarding the concrete.

And did I mention the book was in code?

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie shook his head. If anything about the week had been good, it's just how much Sam had opened up for him to see. It's one of the reasons that made this hard. Sam didn't open up to anyone like she had opened to him. She had said so herself. In some ways, he knew Sam now better than Carly did. Carly knew what kind of things Sam liked to do, what made her happy. I knew what made Sam smile. Not the I'm going to torture you smile, or the I've just ate a lot of good food smile, but a cute little grin that makes her eyes sparkle, and it made Sam look like an angel instead of a demon.

Speaking of eyes, even if Sam's eyes weren't of the bluest skies...

_Sweet Child of Mine_ started playing, and Freddie lost himself to the memories.

- - - - - -

Sunday, Day 1 of The Mess

- - - - - -

We got to Bushwell Plaza without a problem. I eventually stopped looking at Sam and just sat there, watching the hustle and bustle of Seattle at three o clock in the afternoon. We got off, after having to do another segment of Wake Up Sam! Turns out, she had went to sleep. Go figure.

She was silent as we went up the elevator. Turns out, though, that Carly wasn't home. Actually, the Shay household was empty.

"Man, she ain't here! What's with that!?" Sam said, entering the apartment and going straight for the fridge.

"And they ain't go no ham! What the chiz?"

I didn't feel like correcting her grammar. I was kinda stumped, myself. I mean, this wasn't how I pictured the day ending. I started to look around, and I found a note on the cabinets in the kitchen. Turns out that Carly and Spencer decided to go to Canada, following their grandpa. Apparently, they were getting Canadian bacon again.

Leaving me alone with Sam.

What the chiz, indeed.

"Freddie. Any ham in your fridge?"

I started thinking. I shook my head, regretfully. Mama was craving ham, and Papa wasn't going to be able to relax until Mama got it.

We started watchin tv. Girly Cow was on, and it would take Sam's mind off the ham craving, if only slightly. We watched tv for a while, but Sam couldn't take it anymore. I was proud of her, though! She went almost 4 hours without eating!

I started thinking of a solution, when I remembered that I did have a stash of Fat Cakes. I had been saving for an emergency, and I think it qualified as one. Even though we just ate, I knew that it was best to keep Sam's tummy happy. Honestly, I think she has a parasite in her stomach that eats all this food, but the doctors say she's fine.

"Come on. I've got some fatcakes saved up. They're in my room."

She immediately shut the fridge and dragged me out, busting through my door.

Mom still wasn't home. No calls, which means she's in surgery right now and something's gone wrong. I remember her mentioning a chance that she could be at work for many hours today. Something to do with brain surgery and some kind of spinal surgery they had to perform at the same time. Or something. Medicine doesn't interest me. All I know is that she's helping fix some near dead person. I'm rather proud of that fact.

We were in my room, and my little voice thought it quaint that the first girl to kiss me was the first girl dragging me to my room wanting to munch on my fatcakes.

...

I hate that stupid voice.

She sniffed them out on her own, grabbing the box of cakes and holding it like it was her child.

"Sweet, sweet fat cakes. Don't worry, mama's gonna take gooooood care of you."

I laughed slightly. Seeing Sam being maternal was amusing. Mostly due to the fact that she was babying fat cakes.

She took the first one out of the wrapper and munched on it slowly, moaning in pleasure.

"Freddie, I don't care what I say about you. It's times like this that make you almost cool."

I nodded in thanks. She complimented me when I fed her. Actually, she did just about anything I asked for just for food.

Considering how happy she was right now, I found it hard to believe how sad she had been earlier. A brilliant idea started forming in my mind, though. I had to get her riled up.

"Hey, Sam, what happened after you went home from Gibby's? You never did answer us."

Sam's happy munching slowed, then stopped.

"Can it Benson."

I didn't back down. She wasn't over it, if she was still getting angry about it. So I had to try and fix it, just so she wouldn't hurt anymore.

"Nope. Not gonna. What happened?"

"I said can it."

"Nope. Not gonna. What happened?"

I felt like I was two. But I needed to crack through that tough exterior to bring out the inner emotions.

"Benson, I'm warning you."

"Face it Sam, I'm not giving up."

She threw a punch at me. I visualized her in a fencer's gear, her arm and fist being a foil. With that in mind, blocking her wasn't hard. She threw another one, and I dodged it.

"Why are you attacking me?"

"Because you need to mind your own business. Now stand still!"

I kept dodging. I knew that right now, my friendship with Sam, and my life, depended on my abilities to move. I manuvered to the open window. It led to the fire escape. Not yet though. Had to stall it until I could get more out of her.

"Sorry, but then you'd be able to hit me. What happened to make you so mad?"

"Shut up!"

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!"

I was out of room to move. I had no other options. So, I jumped out the window and landed backwards on the fire escape. It probably wasn't the smartest idea. After all, if I had lost my footing, I'd be falling right now. But now Sam was crawling up to get me.

"Sam, what's wrong?"

She stopped, finally. Sam looked away from me, and stared at the streets below us.

"I just hate being the one that gets left out."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, though I think I had it figured out.

"What are you, stupid? I don't often get jealous over anyone, especially my best friend, but..."

I didn't let her finish.

"It sucked because Carly had, like, a thousand guys show up to date her, but you couldn't even convince Gibby to go as your pity date?"

She glared at me. Harshly.

"Gotcha. Well, you know, I would have gone with you, Sam. I've done told you that I consider us really good friends, and that was a while ago. You're every bit the best friend to me that Carly is."

Sam almost looked shocked when I said that, and a pang of guilt rose in me. She didn't know that?

"Look, I'd do anything for you. Ever since that Missy incident, when you came to me, I knew that you were my new best friend."

She frowned, then nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that, Benson. I just figured you wouldn't have wanted to go with me."

I laughed. She looked up at me, an eyebrow raised.

"What's so funny?"

I shook my head.

"My date spent the entire night freaking me out. She made an awesome magician, but I would've went with you. I was going to ask you to take me, actually, because I know how you like that kind of stuff. But first, you seemed like you didn't want to go, and then Carly forced you onto Gibby, and I figured he'd have taken you out of fear for his health. I'm sorry that your night was so bad."

Sam didn't look much happier.

"Carly had guys come from as far as Mount Rainer for her. Why did she dance with you?"

There it was. I got the problem out into the air.

"Jealous?"

Sam glared at me.

"Not of you."

She saw the look in my eyes that told her I was kidding. At least, I hope that's what my eyes were saying.

I'm just glad that she couldn't hear the evil little nagging else I'd be minus a brain stem.

"It just hurt. I got rejected by Gibby, and not only that, but he has a smoking hot date. And then I come in to see you two being all togethery... it's not really jealousy. It just felt like... you know... that nobody wanted me."

Oh.

I stood there, all the amusement in my voice gone. Sam looked genuinely upset. Actually, I've only seen her this upset during the Missy-dent. Hehehe. Missy and incident, all rolled in one word. ARGH! NOT THE TIME FREDDIE!

I didn't know what to say. Or to do. I reached out my arm, and touched her shoulder. Seeing as how she didn't throw me off, or break my arm... I figured, what the heck?

In what may have been the bravest moment in my life, I wrapped Sam into a hug, a very tight hug that made her closer to me than I think she's ever been, physically.

"You know, Sam..."

"What, Benson?" her voice muffled due to her face being in my shoulder.

"Nothing. It's stupid."

"Just say it, nerdling."

"I'm going to make this up to you," I said, in a sure and steady voice.

I let her go for a moment, and she just looked at me. Sam's face was filled with hurt and confusion. Her dark blueish grey eyes were bloodshot. She must have been crying during the hug. I didn't even hear it, so she must have been holding it back as best she could.

Well, she never did want me to see her cry.

"Just stay right here! Don't move Sam!" I said it with a bright smile.

You see, I had planned for us to talk, and then I was going to get some marshmallows and some mixed nuts and we were going to throw them out a window, hitting walking pedestrians. But this idea was so much better. I grabbed my PearPod and my speakers to connect to them. I made it outside, where Sam was looking out the balcony. I hooked them up and turned to Sam.

"All right! Got it!"

She turned and looked at me, not sure where I was going with this. I turned it on. Tim McGraw's _It's Your Love_ came on, and she shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

"You're a nerd. I'm not going to dance with you."

Ouch. That was a low blow. She went behind me. I had thought she was leaving, but then I heard the sound of clicking buttons.

The sound of one of the most famous guitar riffs ever made started coming out of my speakers.

"At least, not to some sappy love song. Even if Tim's awesome."

I laughed at Sam, then offered my hand out to her.

"Why, my dear Samantha Puckett, my I have the honor of this dance?" I said in my fake British accent.

"Why, yes you may, my dear Fredward Benson," she replied in an equally fake British accent. She took my hand and put it at her waist. Then, she put her hands on my shoulders.

With the moon out, the lights of Seattle came to life as Sam and I danced to Sweet Child of Mine. It was nothing like dancing with Carly. Sam surprised me when dipped me.

"Hey! That's my job!"

She scoffed at that.

"Please, Freddifer, we both know who's leading this dance," not even thrown off when twirled her.

"Where'd you learn to dance, Sam?"

She shrugged.

"Well, you know how moms can be with daughters. My mom enrolled me and Melanie in dance classes as soon as we were old enough. Compared to ballet, your moves are easy."

This came as a shock.

"Melanie? I thought you said that you were faking."

"Nope. I lied to get you to shut up. So in a way, I tricked you with Melanie. Just not the way you thought."

"Ooh. Sorry. Your sister kissed me. No wonder she didn't barf when I said nice things to her. It really wasn't you."

Well, I was glad that that had finally been cleared up. I wasn't sure what to believe.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Mel said that was the first time any guy ran away screaming from her. She knows why I like the feeling of that now. It's really funny."

I laughed again, then tried to surprise her by dipping her this time. Didn't work.

"So you took ballet?"

"Sure did. Got out when Melanie left for Vermont. I didn't look back, but I did enjoy the workout. I make sure to keep in practice. It also helps with fighting, too. Teaches you how to move with grace and all that chiz."

I nodded in understanding. A lot of things started making sense.

"So where did you learn?"

"Mother-Child Dance Classes. It wasn't that bad, actually. Taught me a little bit of waltz, tango, chacha and a lot of other dances."

Sam snickered, like she always did whenever I mentioned just how much time I spent with my mom.

"I guess that's one thing that crazy lady did right. You're pretty good, Benson."

I looked her in the eye, and found myself getting twirled this time. I smirked at her, staring her down. The song was almost over.

"You're not too bad yourself, Princess Puckett."

As the final note played, we didn't really pay it any mind. We danced until our feet hurt. It was about seven when we finally stopped. The PearPod had been playing the whole time, but they didn't notice it until they stopped.

"That was pretty fun, Freddie."

Freddie? She almost never called me Freddie! Woah!

"That it was, Sam."

She took my usual seat, my folding chair that I had back here. I took a seat on the window seal behind her. Sam began to move around, and finally got the chair facing backwards looking at me.

"You tell anybody you saw me cry, or that I was in ballet, or anything that happened tonight, I'll hurt you," Sam said, looking at me. She was smiling in a way that I hadn't seen her smile. It wasn't big or toothy. More like a satisfied grin, but something in her eyes told me that she was actually... happy.

"I don't think anyone'd believe me if I told them."

"Not even Carly. I don't want her feeling bad because I got jealous over something stupid."

"It wasn't stupid Sam. That kinda thing would hurt a lot of people."

"Swear that you won't spill."

I sighed. She was paranoid.

"I swear that I won't tell anyone. Just... don't go breaking any teeth. And if you do, let me go with you next time."

She nodded.I looked up for a minute. The moon was shining down on us.

I looked back down and got up, about to go inside.

"Freddie, wait!"

I stopped and looked at her.

"I just... wanted to say thanks and-"

The Pearpod cut her off. I looked up at the moon again, trying to see any sign of interference from a higher power.

_Running Away_... of all the luck, it had to be **that** song, right when I was about to leave. I looked back at Sam, who shrugged.

"One more dance?" I asked. It just seemed right.

She didn't respond. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my shoulder, pulling me closer. I held her waist, and we started swaying. She put her head on my shoulder- the one opposite of the shoulder Carly was fond of. Right now, we weren't Fredward or Samantha. We weren't friends, we weren't enemies. We were just a boy and a girl in this crazy city of coffee loving people.

The song went off, and despite the pain in my feet, I stood, savoring the moment. Sure, I might not have a crush on Sam, but I care about her a lot. I like her when she's not trying to beat me to death with a salami.

She moved her head, and my shoulder now felt cold... hehehe. I always knew she was hot-headed.

I looked down at her, trying to see if she wanted me to let go of her now. She says things like that with her looks.

Our eyes met again, and she said one word.

"Dork."

And that was it.

Sam grabbed me by the collar and pulled me down, kissing me. Her eyes were actually closed this time, and so were mine.

Oh my God. What was she-?

She pushed me back against the wall, and I welcomed it as the kiss deepened. Everything left my mind right then and there.

Forget kissing.

I was making out with Sam Puckett.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie still couldn't believe it. In one day, he had kissed Carly. Not even twelve hours later, he ended his night, making out with the girl farthest from being in his dreams.

He figured things were for the best that neither of them had any experience with the opposite gender. They didn't go far at all. It wasn't anything like kissing Carly.

Carly's kiss had been like kissing a princess. It had been shy and innocent, but he could feel something from it.

The thing was, both times that Sam and Freddie's lips met, he had the same feeling.

It wasn't a spark. It wasn't fireworks.

The reason why all of this had started... the reason why iCarly could fall apart due to him...

Niether girl had kissed him with a kiss that felt like fireworks. No... their kisses felt like a nuclear explosion.

- - - - - -

O_O Freddie and Sam making out say whaaaat? Hahaha. I've felt really creative today. It's mostly because I want to finish a story for once. So, if you haven't gotten the hint, this is told in limited thrid person mixed with first person. This was Day 1 of The Mess. Well, there will be a little bit of day one, but not much. Maybe the first two pages. Or more. Hell, I don't care. I'll write whatever I feel like. The last two chapters have been a little innocent. Something about Creddie just strikes me as a relationship that's really shy. You see, in Freddie's mind, Carly is his dream girl, but Sam's... well, I guess the best way to put it is that Sam's his fantasy. Seddie seems like it would go at a pace that didn't bore Sam, who seems like the type of person who wants to go go go, but slow enough to let Freddie get used to the idea that he was in a relationship with someone who's constantly going, as well as someone who would constantly keep him on his toes.

Secondly...

Okay, I promised I'd give a little bit of my insight on Sam.

Sam's always played sort of second fiddle to Carly. She may be pushy, mean, and badass to the extreme, but she's still a girl who likes guys, but every time she gets interested in one, they either go after Carly, avoid her, or reject her in some way. I imagine this hurts her, because things like that sure as hell hurt me back in high school. Normally, when she has an issue, she goes to Carly, who proceeds to whip out the chick flicks and the cookie dough ice cream, so to speak.

Being the friend she is, and I think she's a great friend to Carly, she doesn't want to hurt Carly's feelings by telling her she's jealous. I also don't think she even admits that's she's jealous to herself even.

I might be a guy, but I am not stupid. It's obvious to anyone but the most fanatic Creddiers and Spam fans that Sam does have some kind of feeling for Freddie, and more than she's let on. I rarely agree with SarcasticLeaves of Youtube fame when she and her friends gush on Seddie, but they do say, and I agree whole-heartedly, that the ending of iSpeed Date made it obvious that Sam really does care. And the show even says that Freddie cares about Sam.

So, when Freddie got Sam alone, brought out all of this bottled up grief out, he did what he could to fix it, just like he did with the Missydent and with Carly and her bad night, even as far back in the show as Jake's live preformance. He let himself give up something and does his magic to fix it. Dancing happened to be an answer.

Now, you have put two hormonal teenagers who have some kind of feeling for each other, alone in a rather romantic setting. It doesn't matter if they were arguing ten minutes before, things are gonna happen.

And that's the end of this chapter's rant!


	4. iHate Mondays

Hey, guys! This is a much more Creddie centric chapter, as promised. Sorry it took a little longer than I had hoped, but I was surprisingly more busy than I had planned. Anyways, add my myspace and follow my tweets, yo! Check the profile for links, and enjoy the chapter!

- - - - - -

Chapter 4: iHate Mondays

- - - - - -

Freddie shook his head. He could've blamed anyone. Carly shouldn't have went to Canada, no matter how much she wanted the bacon. He could've blamed Spencer for making her leave the mall. He could've blamed his mom for all of this: had she not worked for nearly 20 hours, Sam would've never been allowed to be that close to Freddie.

He could've blamed Sam, but at that moment in time, there wasn't a part of him that thought she could do wrong.

- - - - -

Sunday, Day 1 of The Mess

- - - - -

It was the only time I think I've ever enjoyed being out of breath. Sam broke the kiss when she seemed to remember the need to breath.

And what she just did hit her. And as much as it was an insult to me, I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

Sam's face was a healthy mix of horror and disgust. She wiped her lips off, and started licking her shirt.

"Gah! You got dweeb germs all in my mouth."

"You put evil germs in mine."

Sam, in a rare moment of being completely red-faced, even began to stutter.

"S-stupid Freddie! It was just an in the moment thing. D-don't read too much into that like you did with that whole Melanie thing, because you just found out how wrong y-you were."

I just grinned like an idiot.

There was nothing she could do.

"Look, this won't leave the balcony, Sam. Tomorrow, I'll go to school in hopes that my locker is rigged so that the basketball team's dirty gym shorts fall on top of me when I open it. You'll be the one to do something like that. We'll bicker a little bit, and then Carly will pull out that squirt bottle from her bag and spray us until everything's better."

No matter how much I was smiling on the inside, I knew to be serious on the outside. Sam really would take this out of proportion and it could spell disaster for our friendship.

"It'd better, Benson. Mama's gotta go. I have to get ready for school."

She seemed angry. Shaking my head, I grabbed her shoulder.

"Still hate me?"

Sam's eyes had that brightness to them like she did during our dance, but it was gone before I could appreciate it.

"More than ever. G'night."

"Bye Sam."

With a bitter sigh, I waited until she left before I climbed in, bringing my electronics with me. Bitterness turned into anger. Anger...turned into adrenaline. I plugged the PearPod back in, changed the playlist from all songs to my workout playlist, and let the music take me.

Pushups? I lost count. I had recently bought this fancy pullup bar that was made by some Navy SEAL. It was called UltraPullup. There were a few excercises that came with that that had my arms screaming at me. And I screamed back. Countless jumping jacks followed, and when my arms could no longer move, I did every single leg and ab involved excersize I could come up with.

Three hours was a workout for me that only happened when I had this burning feeling inside me that pushed me to do my best, push my limits to the max, and then go farther. Finally, when every part of me could barely move an inch, at 10:38 PM, I crawled into my bed and all but died.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie knew what people would think, should they ever hear his story.

They'd think he was a filthy pervert. A two timing lowlife. That whole work out thing, he was just angry because Sam had left him.

Freddie knew that the two timing thing felt more right. Even days later, he didn't know what had cased all that rage. Maybe it was what he was feeling now, somehow getting transferred through time and space and going into himself.

He scoffed at the idea. His life was not science fiction. Freddie rubbed his arm, almost unconciously. He had figured out one thing that was for sure, though. Had he not nearly killed himself Sunday night, everything that had happened Monday might've not happened. Daniel Powter's piano broke the slight silence that the changing of songs in the Pearpod brought.

It was a _Bad Day_, or at least that's how it started.

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

I don't think I've ever been in this much pain. Ever. It was like every single bit of my body was lit on fire anytime I moved. The only thing that didn't hurt was my neck, which was convienent. After all, I could keep my head up in class and maybe not fail the whole day. I wasn't even sure I could move my arm to write.

But it was the best pain in my life, no matter how much it was killing me to roll out of bed. I headed to the shower with my clothes for the day in hand.

Carly takes showers because she's upset, and maybe the soap and water will wash the problems away. Sam takes showers... well, actually, I don't know what she'd want the most out of a shower, except to be cleaner. Maybe to be in a place that she could be alone. I didn't know. Yes, I'd probably use this shower to psychoanalyze my friends on most days, but, under the circumstances, I'm too grumpy to really care about anyone right now.

All I wanted was to be a normal day, my shower time is where I solve my problems. I think the best when I'm wet, kinda like Spencer. Today? I just wanted to... well, not think. I hissed in surprise as the hot water hit me, but my body got used to it. The only thing that I didn't enjoy was the fact that it hurt to lather up with the soap. I forced myself through it, and by the time the shower had ended, well, I wasn't in agonizing pain anymore. Just horrible pain. Looking at the mirror, I couldn't help but flew, even if it hurt. Last night's work out rush still had a small, lingering effect. Hey... I didn't look too bad. You could actually see the basis of a washboard stomach starting.

That was good, because it felt like someone had beat my stomach with a washboard. I checked my face, and I finally saw a few more hairs growing around my chin, and a few more sprouting along my face. I grabbed the soap, and lathered my face up. Spencer, in all of his father/older brother figure-ness, had taught me a lot of things about my body. Yeah, so he wasn't the manliest guy in the world, but he was more of a dad than my dad ever was. It was Spencer who gave me the birds and the bees talk, even if it was the most embarrassing thing in the world for them to talk about.

My dad? Hell, I don't even know. I last saw him when I was six. He showed up late to my birthday party drunk off his ass, and he didn't even have a present. My mom kicked him out of the house, and I haven't seen a bit of him since. Well, I saw child support until I was 9. Then the payments stopped coming in, but it didn't matter because my mom had her job and she was happy with it, no matter how much pain it put her through.

OH NO! MY MOM!

Making myself halfway decent, I rushed out of the bathroom. Thankfully, I saw her bedroom door open. I smiled and sighed in relief as I went mom had worked overtime didn't even get out of her scrubs and didn't even bother getting under the covers.

How late did she work last night?

I sighed and shook my head. She worked so hard to give me everything. She was absolutely nuts, but I loved her for it. I guess I got the self sacrificing thing from her. Knowing how much this would kill me, I pulled back the sheets on the other side of her bed, then picked her up and put her down gently.

"Freddie?" Her voice was tired, and I saw her eyes barely open.

"Hi mom. Welcome home. I have to get ready for school. You get some sleep, okay?"

I guess she was too tired to mother me or argue. She nodded, more like a slight shift of her head, and I tucked her in.

"Good night, mom," I said, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead.

She didn't respond.

It was 6:30 in the morning. The bus came at seven for me and Carly. Sam at the opposite side of Ridgeview's district. That gave me thirty minutes to eat and brush my chompers. With a tired sigh, I grumbled and rumbled to the fridge. Raisin Bran was the sweetest cereal mom ever bought, so I gobbled it down quite frequently. Sometimes I'd go to Carly's for breakfast, but after yesterday, I wanted a teenage female free quiet zone. Thankfully, there was some left. I downed two bowls and went back to the bathroom.

I had the toothbrush in my mouth when last night had really caght up with me, and I'm not talking about the insane workout.

I MADE OUT WITH SAM! FOR THE LOVE OF BUTTER, WHAT POSSESSED ME TO DO THAT?

I looked at my helpless toothpaste bottle. It's last moments were going to be honorable.

I unscrewed the cap and poured it on my tounge and teeth, and gargled. I spit out the mess, then I repeated it. Two more times I did this, before I put some on my tooth brush. I spent about thirty seconds scrubbing every bit of each tooth. I brushed my tounge, gums, and cheeks, too.

Still couldn't get the feeling of her tounge out of my mind, though.

GAH!

STUPID HOBKNOCKING WORM EATING LITTLE CREEPING VOICE!

I was saved from self cursing by Carly's voice. She banged on my door a few times. Normally? I welcome it. But, I'm tired and in pain and my mom's trying to sleep. I put my shirt on, a plain white polo, and went out the door.

I probably looked sour-faced, which would explain Carly's happy expression changing into an extreme mockery.

In a deep voice, she looked at me.

"Good morning, sunshine!"

Most days? That would have made me crack a smile. Today, though?

"Ug."

"Ug? Oh, are we going to do another caveman bit?"

"Eh."

"Yes?"

"Eh."

"No?"

"Mmm."

Carly gave up, and walked by my side.

"What's wrong, Freddie?"

Her attitude was infectious to a certain extent. Even when she was getting on my nerves, she still brought out that happy part of me.

She deserved an answer, so I looked her in the eye, with the most dead-serious expression in the world on my face. I took in a deep breath,then exhaled, closing my eyes, calming myself... Another breath in, and I opened my mouth to speak.

"Ug."

She knew it was a joke the second a smile popped on my face.

"Don't worry Carly. I just overdid it last night with my workout regimen!" I did my best to sound cheerful. Carly looked at me, a worried expression on her face.

"A-are you okay, Freddie?" A part of her seemed unsure of what to do. Normally? I'd nod, give her a few details now, and spill everything later. Today?

I reach out my hand, and tuck a loose strand of haid behind her ear, rubbing her cheek while I do it. Carly blushes slightly, but I pay it no mind. I just smiled and responded with a surpringly honest anwser.

"I"m as okay as I've ever been, Carls."

She looked confused, but didn't say another word until we got in the elevator.

"Freddie, is it because of what happened on the couch yesterday?"

_"Yes. Well, partly. The other part of what got me riled up is that our mutual blond haired friend and I made out with each other a few hours later and swore to keep it a secret from you again!"_

"I dunno. I... haven't really thought about it."

_"Except every minute after you did it up until me and Sam kissed."_

Carly again looked uncertain. This was all new to her. Facing the cold, hard facts, Griffin had been her only real relationship. And now it seemed she was falling for her best friend. Normally, I'd have been all over it, trying to get her to fall faster. Today?

The elevator door shut, and I reached down for her hand, taking it into my own.

"Don't worry Carls. I won't tell anyone if you won't."

I was pleasantly surprised when she squeezed my hand, and it brought my mood up a good bit.

"Yeah... I mean, you and Sam got to keep a secret. I guess we can have one, too."

What's funny, is that I'm the only guy I've seen her get this nervous over. And that now that she's interested in me of all people, I'm the one who's keeping cool while she's a bumbling mass of nerves.

God, I hate Mondays.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie chuckled in spite of himself. That was where everything had become complicated, because now he had to keep a secret from both of them, act completely normal, and also make sure they did too. It was too bad he couldn't change the memories to fix the situation, but it was a good thing, too. After all, he had no idea what could've happened had something been different.

It reminded him of a dream he had once had where Spencer had been born normal. Spencer had become a lawyer, his mom had started dating him, and he barely gave a crap about Carly. He had been in a relationship with that... that SKUNKBAG, and Neville dated Carly. And because Spencer wasn't his free, spontaneous self, he didn't let Sam and Carly become friends, which put the blond in jail for a good part of her life.

It still sucked that nothing could be done to avoid what was going to go down tonight.

Hahaha... going down....

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

"So, going down?" Carly asked. I nodded, and she pressed the button for the lobby.

I have to admit, holding her hand was a good feeling. It was like we shared something deep, mysterious, and powerful. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. I didn't want to really think right now. I just wanted to rest. As we neared the lobby, Carly turned to me, and stood up on her tiptoes. I didn't really think about what she was doing until she did it.

My cheek felt warm, a tingly feeling going through it. Finally, the elevator stopped, and the door opened to the lobby

We went though, Carly already tensed up for the inevitable shout to come from the wart-infested freak show known as Lewbert.

I had other plans.

The moment I heard the scream, I rushed up right into his face and screamed as loud as I could back. It shut him up and I got to ignore what he said, so I turned around and left the building, miss Shay by my side. We let go of each other's hands as we left the elevator, so nobody knew even a slight hint of what she and I were becoming on the bus.

Normally? I'd have sat beside Carly and talked to her the whole bus ride about anything. Today? I smiled apologetically at her as I leaned my head against the window, wondering if the days where we were kids were possible to go back to.

Next thing I knew, the world was dark, and I felt a finger poking me. I jerked awake, and looked at my attacker.

Carly just sat there,before laughing. I grinned in spite of myself.

"Come on, sleepy head. We gotta ge off the bus."

"Ug."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed me by my arms, pulling me up. I let her pull me up, and followed closely behind her.

Every step was producing high levels of didn't seem to notice that I winced, but then, she was in front of me, even as we walked into the school together. Looking at the place, a part of me began to realize just how much school sucked on Mondays. After all, I was usually happy to be here, where I could learn and apply myself. But today was different. Today, I was just another kid. I didn't want to be a techie, a nerd, the smart kid, or even the kid with the boyish-cute grin.

Haha. Some of my fans on iCarly said I have a boyish-cute smile. And great hair. Hahaha... take that, Puckett! I wonder if Carly thinks my grin's cute?

And cue the hobknocking little voice in the back of my head: Don't you wonder if Sam thinks it's cute, too?

Not one to really want to argue with the voices in my head, I ignored it.

Truth is, though, I did. But after what happened last night, I don't think I can really look at Sam and not feel-

Aw, butter, she's here already.

"Good morning Sam!" Carly's bright and cheery voice rang out.

"Puckett."

"Hi Carls. Benson."

Our tones had a bit of disgust in them Maybe she really did hate me more than ever? Oh well. Carly seemed to like me a little bit now, and I didn't need to worry about Sam. That would just complicate everything.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

"Brilliant plan...What was I thinking, saying I could ignore Sam? That was a golden opportunity for karma to act and pretty much blow that plan to nothing..." Freddie muttered. Sure, he thought it was weird that he was talking to himself, but that was how he figured things out, by putting his thoughts in the air and talking about them, even if it was to himself.

It was almost like it was written out of a bad novel.

But bad romance novels generally had a girl choosing between the attractive, dangerous bad boy or the sweet, handsome best friend.

Sure, it was kinda like the situation he was in now, only heavily genderbent. But bad romance novels weren't the best example for this problem. Freddie sighed once again.

Tonight, he knew he had to choose something. He didn't know how in the world his two best friends could have gone from being friends with him to more in a week, but he knew that he couldn't keep it up and not hurt all three of wasn't sure it was possible to avoid hurting anyone at all.

The tech producer once again lost himself to thought, trying to figure out what he would do. He was running out of time to remedy this situation.

As if predicting his thoughts, Seether began to play _Remedy_.

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

I looked around, avoiding all eye contact with the blond girl. She didn't seem to mind. It was strage. Kissing's supposed to be done by people who like each other enough to not try to kill each other. I guess that was another way she differed from the whole world. She apparently only kissed the guys she hated.

Of course, that was better than what she did to the guys she liked. Jonah still had a bit of a squeak in his voice from the wedgie bounce. She had nearly killed Shane. I don't know about that Pete guy, but I'm sure that he had some kinda damage.

I stood next to Carly, waiting for the time to pass as she talked to Sam about iCarly. The bell finally rang, and I thanked my lucky stars. My first class was broadcast journalism, and it was a thankfully Carly and Sam free 90 minutes where I could hopefully chill, maybe figure out how to not feel awkward around Sam and maybe, just maybe get the girl I've wanted.

As you might expect, a good bit of my soreness was gone by the end of class. All I did was work on the video. I didn't have much care for being in front of the camera.I preferred the hard stuff... getting the lighting great, camera angles, picture quality, video editing. Being in the front just felt awkward for me. Being behind it, I was like Carly was in front. I really could do anything I wanted behind the computer and camera.

90 minutes of doing what I did well and getting a high school credit for it...

Yeah. I loved that class.

Sadly, the second class was Ms. Briggs. And three guesses who sat in the desks in front of me and behind me?

If those guesses were Carly and Sam, you were right.

I did my best to focus on Ms. Briggs. Let's see... she was an actually good bagpiper, though you'd never hear me admit that. She looked a lot like that lady from Houston Powers, a movie my mother had NOT approved of. Of course, she didn't know what I watched at Carly's. She's the English teacher that taught the advanced English class. Still not sure how Sam had gotten in it.

NO! BAD FREDDIE! AVOID THINKING OF EITHER OF THEM!

I sighed, my mind being completely taken off of trying to focus on the lesson. Oh well. It was all about Shakespeare. We were doing a few weeks of study on his sonnets, then we'd work on a comedy and a tragedy.

The Scottish woman's voice rang out.

"All right, class. You will pass this hat along amongst all of you. It has 154 pieces of paper. You will pick the number and that will be the sonnet you must research. I have a teacher's conference taking place until Friday, which will be when this assignment is due. You will behave for the substitute."

An excited feeling passed through the whole class. It was nice, actually. Briggs hadn't taken a day off in years. Now she was taking a week! The hat made it slowly and surely around the class, finally getting to Carly. I curiously peeked over her shoulder. All I saw was that the last digit was an 0. I shrugged. She'd probably tell me about it anyway.

She handed it to me, and in a quick moment out eyes met. I smiled at her, a gesture she returned. I reached in and drew one.

Sonnet 138?

Uhh... crap, which one was that?

I turned around to face Sam. Unsurprisingly, the blond was asleep. Picking out another number, I placed it on her desk and passed the hat to Germy.

I'd fill her in later.

And I'm not even going to mention how twisted that thought became because of the little voice.

"SAMANTHA!"

Oh God. She said the full name. Even I rarely called her by name. The blond woke up, oblivious.

"SLEEPING IN CLASS AGAIN! DETENTION!"

Sam just gave her a thumbs up and put her head back down, causing Briggs to freak. Thankfully, we were all saved by the bell ringing. It was our lunch period. The only period of school Sam enjoyed.

GOD! GET SAM OFF THE BRAIN, BENSON!

I got out of my desk and followed Carly closely.

"Hey, Carly!"

"Hey Freddie! It's been a whole minute that I last saw you!"

I smiled at her.

"I know! We should keep up better contact. I hardly recognize you!"

She laughed at me, and slowed her pace down. Carly slowed her pace down and got really close to me. If she hadn't told me to keep_ us _a secret, whatever _we _were, I'd have tooke her hand. Normally, I would have anyway, no matter if I was in pain or not. She had admitted to me that she might like me. But today? I didn't want anyone to know either. This was probably the one chance I'd get for probably forever.

Sam caught up. She apparently had to go to her locker to get some stuff. It was a brown paper bag.

"Jerky and/or fat cakes?" I asked. What? I was curious!

She nodded, setting the bag down at the table we sat at all the time.

"Get me a slice of pepperoni pizza, Fredonkadonk. And fries! OH! And vanilla pudding!"

Carly smiled at me, but rolled her eyes.

"Sam, don't make Freddie get your food!"

"What? He doesn't mind!"

Both girls looked at me. This wasn't an unusal lunch. Sam would try to mooch, Carly would try to get her to stop, and depending on how much money I had with me, I either got her something or I shared what I could get.

As little as I knew of Sam's home life, I did know that they were rather poor. I guess most people didn't get the luxary of a mom that could cook, either. From what it seemed, Sam was the one that did any cooking. Her mom rarely got the best groceries, other than ham, jerky, and fat cakes.

I remember her telling Carly that her appetite came from her mom, as well as her insane metabolism.

"Nah. I have a bit of money today. I had a quick repair job to do last Thursday."

Sam beamed, and Carly smiled as well, following me into the line. She usually got a salad. I got chicken nuggets today, and the large amount of Sam food.

"That was sweet, Freddie."

I shrugged.

"Nah. It's not like she wouldn't take whatever food I got for myself. I do it all the time, you know that."

Carly laughed her cute, sweet, innocent laugh.

"Yeah, you're right. Still, it is sweet. You treat her a lot better than she treats you. You're an amazing friend, Freddie."

I nodded. I wasn't sure what to say. It was probably one of the best compliments I had gotten in a while.

"Thanks."

I paid for the huge meal, wincing from the occaisional sharp pains in my body and the sharp pain I just felt in my wallet. Carrying the tray to the table, I had barely the time to set it down before Sam ravaged the food.

With a stuffed mouth, she muttered out her own thanks.

I just grinned, and went on to ravaging my own plate. Carly ate her salad like a princess, though.

When we were done, Sam got up.

"Sorry guys, I gotta split. My mom's getting me from school, and she says that it's school supply shopping time."

I raised my eyebrow, an obvious question in my eyes.

"Hey, better late than never, Benson," she said, grabbing her backpack. Leaving me and Carly alone. She was sitting to my left, about as close to me as normal We sat in a corner of the cafeteria, and our lunch period was the least crowded of the three. I grabbed the seat and leaned back onto the air, just relaxing a little bit. Carly didn't really look at me, but it was nice when she grabbed my hand that was between us. She gave it another squeeze that I felt in my hand and in my heart.

We both looked at each other, and smiled.

And for another moment, I was just a guy with a girl in a world where names didn't matter.

- - - - - - -

Okay! Not a lot of Future Freddie in this one, or as much music. This chapter didn't really feel like it needed it, so I didn't add it. This chapter would have been a lot longer and done a bit quicker, but I didn't save it when I should have, and my dad cut power to my computer, making me lose nearly three pages of work, and I'm horrible at writing the same thing twice, even if the original copy is in front of me.

AND NOW!

I have a request of you readers. If you have any songs that you think should be on Freddie's PearPod, please suggest some! My taste in music doesn't give me a lot of songs to use. Just tell me a song and the artist that you would like to see incorporated into the story, and I'll do my best to put it in there.


	5. i'M Seeing Double

Eh. I ain't really got much to say. I've been sick, and I guess I pushed myself too hard this weekend, so I was pretty much dead all Sunday. I also realized that I labeled last chapter as chapter 4. I'll fix it later. Anyways, add me to your myspace or follow my twitter. Links are in my profile! That's all I can think of right now, so sit back, enjoy, and review!

- - - - - -

Chapter 4: i'M Seeing Double

- - - - - -

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Nobody could really see us. It was bittersweet, the more I thought about it. Carly finally liked me for more than her dorky, tech nerd neighbor. But she was hiding it from the rest of Ridgeview!

But, as they say, beggars can't be choosers, and I had been begging for years.

In a way, I think it was for the best. Taking things slow, not jumping into anything would keep things good in the relationship. It allowed us to get used to... well, whatever we were becoming. Gave us a chance to feel things out, make sure this was the right choice and all.

I squashed the voice in my head before it could even start on my attraction to a curly blond haired girl I knew.

But, yes, it would allow me to figure out what I was going to do with Sam.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie smiled more. Monday had been hard, but the second best day of the week. The nights did seem better than the days this whole week. Which, ironically, made everything worse. Didn't they say too much of a good thing was bad?

Maybe that explained it. Freddie's mood began to worsen. It was like he couldn't be happy, no matter what he did. He could have been loathsome, or wholesome. Was he too flirty with them? Or was he just too flirty.

And to completely contrast his bad mood, _Grace Kelly _started playing. The song was silly, but he liked it. As usual, it put a small grin on his lips and he began bobbing his head to the tempo.

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

So, Carly finished her lunch, while the two of us made small talk. Nothing about iCarly, but we did talk about the dance and a few other things. Like the Sonnet assignment. She had gotten Sonnet 80. I wasn't an expert on any of them, so we were both kinda lost on this one.

Another old saying was that all good things had to come to an end, and that applied to wasn't in my next two classes, and Sam wasn't here for the rest of them. They were boring anyway.

My day didn't pick up until the three thirty bell to go home. I had gotten a text from my mom telling me that she would be home for the rest of the day, so I could expect dinner. That sounded great, especially because I was kinda hungry.

Carly apparently had an extracurricular thing to do. I think she was her homeroom's class rep or something, and there was some kinda school event tomorrow or something. I've had more important things on my mind than the small happenings of lame middle school/ junior high events.

I boarded the bus and went home to Bushwell Plaza. I didn't do much. My mom had dinner ready at about 4, giving me about 15 minutes to even get home. I haven't figured out how they can take almost 30 minutes getting us there, but about 10 minutes going home. I guess the bus drivers are all trying to get home, and they dread going to school as much as we do. I dunno. Of course, I'm on one of the last stops going to school and one of the first going home.

Dinner wasn't anything impressive, but it was still good. It was hamburger. My mom has one of those George Tyson Grills that drain all of the grease from the meat. Of course, we ate on whole wheat bread, but it was still good.

My mom had had an emergency case yesterday. Apparently after the guy they had surgery on was fixed up, some kid had come in with a rare disease and the doctors had to fix it. They almost didn't, but my mom saved the day when she came up with a theory and gave it to the doctors. Turns out that she was right, and the kid was okay.

I seriously wonder why she didn't become a doctor. She was really good at that stuff, and she had gotten a near perfect score on that test that people take when they want to go to med school. Wasn't it called the MCAT?

She would never tell me why, and I had long since given up asking. I bet it had something to do with my dad, who she hated.

We ate in silence after she had told me about her day. After all, I couldn't exactly tell her I had kissed the neighbor girl in the morning while she was gone, and made out with a different girl on the fire escape in my room that night, then tell her I spent the rest of the day angry at the world because said girl I made out with pissed me off because she left me alone and that that put me into an enraged workout that nearly killed me!

I mean, that was just too much to put on her, ya know? And I wouldn't want to know if my "perfect" son was busy being a two timing, hormonal idiot. When we finished, I went and washed the dishes. Mom and I traded off chores from time to time. Sometimes, I'd take out the trash and recyclables and she'd do the dishes. I'd cook sometimes and she'd cook others. We survived very well without my dad. Hell, we survived well with the deadbeat.

I went to my computer and frowned. I only had one email request for fixing something. It looked like this:

To:

From:

Subject: Help

Body: Meet me the groovy smoothie at 5 for details

HamloverP1? That was a new one. Sounds like something Sam would use for an email address. But, she could have just called or texted. She has my number. So I guess it's not her. Hmm...

It was about 4:45 now. I looked out my window and saw that there was a light drizzle outside. Of course. Seattle's always such a sunshiney , it doesn't rain like people say it does. It's actually just overcast all the time. But, hey. We've got the best coffee in the world.

I grab my shoes and head back into the main part of the apartment, where my mom is watching one of her medical dramas. I find it hilarious that she watches them, because she oftentimes lives them. She says it's because it's nice to see people getting their lives saved in the shows, because it happens in real life much less frequently.

"Hey, mom, I'm going down to the Groovy Smoothie. I've got another repair job."

She looked at me and nodded. My mom didn't like me going to different places with strangers, but she accepted the fact that it was her money that paid the bills, but it was a good part of my money and my tech know-how that bought all of our high tech stuff, like the computer she has or the dozens of gadgets and gizmos that I have.

Not to say that she couldn't afford it by herself, but... every bit helps. If teenage girls can go places to babysit children in random houses, then I can go fix computers.

So I walk down to the Groovy Smoothie, grabbing my tool bag as I went out. I dunno why, but I felt a wave of uneasiness that went through my whole body. I ignored it.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie grinned as the song ended. One of the people he expected to see least of all happened to be there, and her appearance happened to help a lot. He gained a new friend, and a person that had helped him figure out this mess, in the long run.

Of course, the fact that the girl he had befriended looked EXACTLY like Sam didn't help any.

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

When I went inside, I couldn't believe it. Sitting at a table was a blond haired girl with eyes that changed between grey and green. Except she had long, straight hair that was pulled back into a pony tail. She had a little more makeup, a little more pep in the way she sat, and he was wearing a skirt.

I walked over to her, a smile on my face.

"Hi Melanie."

She grinned at me. It was a smile I wasn't used to seeing on that face, because on that face I usually saw a smile that promised me a wedgie.

"Hey Freddie!"

Why had I not noticed that Melanie had a higher pitched voice than Sam? I guess I was just so sure that it had been Sam I didn't notice.

"What's up? Sorry about the last time you visited. I'm sure you know that Sam pranks me a lot, so I was really paranoid. I finally found out you weren't a hoax."

Melanie laughed a laugh that sounded like bells, and it was just... wrong!

"I know. That's why I wasn't too offended. But hey, I've got great news! I've decided to move back to Seattle to finish this year and go to High School with you guys!"

Yup. Way too excitement. I'm an idiot.

"Really? That's great! Did you just get in from... where ever you went to school?"

"Yep! I flew into Sea-Tac today. But yeah, I guess you're wondering why I emailed you to come here?"

That would be nice to know. I kinda feel awkward considering that I had been an idiot when she was here last.

Nagging voice rooted me on, considering how I more or less made out with twins, and if any other guy knew, they'd been jealous. I smiled, but squashed the voice and nodded my head.

"Well, you see, my laptop crashed last night when I was up in the air. The battery had a full charge and everything, so I thought it might be a problem with something else."

I nodded.

"Uhh, well, give it here and I'll take a look at it. It won't be as easy as a desktop to fix, but I can fix anything that's a computer. I just don't like working with laptops, 'cause everything's just packed together and tight. You know?"

She just nodded and smiled that happy, out of place smile. Well, maybe it wasn't so out of place to anyone that wasn't used to Sam. I didn't know. I don't think I cared to know, either.

"Welllll, Freddie, the thing is that I left it at home. I kinda just wanted to get to know you. And I was also going to prove I was Melanie this time, but I guess I don't have to."

I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. Man, I felt like a loser. Anyways, we got to know each other for a bit, taking about an hour. She was the only that did most of the talking. Another thing I guess she did that Sam didn't. As bad as it was, I couldn't help but to compare. About an hour passed, and we were both done with our smoothies.

She stood up, grabbing her purse.

"All right, Freddie. Let's go to my house so you can get the laptop. Don't worry, you won't have to fight off Sam. I brought a ham with me, and I only ate half of it. She'll be happily munching on the rest of it. I hope. She eats really quickly..."

I gulped in nervousness. For one, I'd never been to that part of town where the Pucketts live. I know they lived in an apartment, but from what I've heard, it wasn't the most kept up place in the world. Two, I'd be around Sam's mom without anyone else around, and she was every bit as vicious as Sam with the teasing. Three, Melanie was really underestimating how much Sam liked to abuse me. She had even told me once that she'd give up ham for the chance to torment me for the rest of my life.

It was only after I started to panic that a strangely calming thought crossed my mind and almost made me chuckle.

Melanie seemed to like ham as much as Sam.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

Freddie laughed when he remembered thinking that. Melanie actually tore through ham even more than Sam, actually. It turned out that they both shared that rabid mongoose of a metabolism. It was hard to believe, but it even turned out that they got it from both parents, who had rather quick metabolic systems, but they paled in comparison to their children.

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

She almost had to drag me in. I looked at the apartment complex. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. It looked a tiny bit less upscale as Bushwell, but it didn't look like a rundown shack of a building like Sam had described it. It wasn't really a building like my home, either, but it was one of those neighborhood style places with a bunch of large brick buildings that had letters on the buildings and numbers on the doors.

The Puckett's lived in Apartment 7C. Their building had a green door, which looked a bit out of place. Melanie grabbed my hand and went inside, tugging me along.

"Mom, put some clothes on! You can break in the bikini later. The computer repairman is here!"

Call me childish, but being called a man made me swell up a little bit with pride. Also, Melanie did sound like Sam when she yelled. The living room was the first place I came upon. It smelled lightly of cigarette smoke and heavily of cinnamon scented candles. And ham, oddly. I heard a door click shut, then open a minute later. A short blond woman with blue eyes came out with an unlit cigarette in her mouth. She looked ready to go out on a date.

I guess you could say Sam's mom was pretty. I could see that she had looked beautiful once, like the twins, but it seemed like a hard life had drained a lot of her youth away. She was a few years older than Spencer, about five or six I'd wager.

She took the cig out and looked at me, trying to figure out who I was. When it dawned on her, as she hadn't seen me since before I hit my growth spurt and my voice dropped, she nodded her head approvingly. I guess it was approving because Melanie hadn't brought in some serial killing psycho into the house.

"Ah! Fredward! It's been a while! You've grown a few inches, yeah? You almost don't look like a little nerd anymore. Where does the time go, Benson?"

I smiled. Her teasing didn't have that cutting edge that Sam's did. It more or less sounded like she was doting on me, really.

"Good evening, Miss Puckett."

I used my manners on about every adult that wasn't Spencer. Sam's mom included.

She walked up to me and ruffled my hair, reaching up a bit to do so. It was only then when I had realized I had gotten a lot taller.

"Wow, you really did grow! Almost look like a real man now and- ooh, are those muscles?" She poked my arms and I laughed.

"Yeah, believe it or not I'm involved with a sport now."

She nodded, an impressed look on her face.

"Wow. Basketball?"

"Nope, I took up fencing. You know, those little sword things?"

I met a blank look. Well, not really a blank look, but it seemed like she wasn't as impressed as she had been.

"It was the most violent sport my mom would let me do."

That wasn't the full truth, but I didn't feel like explaining that I was actually a skilled natural at the sport my family had more or less dominated for three generations or so that had inherited the gene.

She understood, though. She thought my mother was crazy as much as my mom thought she was crazy.

"Well, Benson, as much as I'd love to catch up on things, I've got a date with my new boyfriend. He's a stand-up comedian, so this should be fun. Don't get murdered by the twins, and I'll pay you on Friday for Mel's computer, okay? Okay, tootles!"

She walked away slowly, and right as she turned the knob to go out, she turned back around.

"SAMMY! MELANIE BROUGHT THE COMPUTER REPAIRMAN! DON'T CAUSE THIS ONE TO GO TO ADMIT HIMSELF IN A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, ALL RIGHT?"

"NO PROMISES!"

I blinked, feeling a strange sense of fear. I was a poor sheep that had been led into the hungry lioness's territory, and for a moment, I considered running. I looked at the door, which Sam's mom was standing at. She looked back at me and grinned. She winked suggestively, and I swear I saw where Sam got it from.

"Call me when you're 18, all right?"

My jaw dropped when she left and I felt a warm, gentle hand push it back up. I looked over at Melanie who was barely containing her laughter.

"Don't worry, she's harmless. She did the same thing to Sam's ex, Pete. It's her way of saying that you're cute, Freddie."

Needless to say, I was still blushing. Melanie told me to sit down, and she went to go get her laptop. After a minute, she set the bag down next to me.

"Come on, sit back and relax a bit. You can take off your shoes!"

Not wanting to offend, I did so. My tool-bag carried a few screw drivers, screws, and a few extra parts like memory sticks. I also carried around one of my prided and joys that I had bought just recently: an external hard drive with a program on it that made it able to access a computer's memory without a virus interfering, so I could find one if it was there.

My socks stayed on, though. I took the laptop and turned it on, running a couple of diagnostic tests. Melanie sat right next to me, really close to me, actually, and alternated between watching me work and watching the tv.

I didn't really notice. You see, when I'm repairing a computer, I'm almost dead to the world around me. It's like I become a machine myself, working singlemindedly on a task.

Of course, all computers these days know how to tell you when an error's occurring. Or, in my case, danger coming.

I felt a large amount of weight being forced on my head.I ducked down to get away from it and turned my head to see a very happy Samantha Puckett. Only the happy was evil. Very evil. And scary.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here. Benson?" She spoke through gritted teeth and in short, choppy sentences.

"Your mom hired me to fix Mel's laptop. You see, the two normal Puckett women don't hate me And if you let me work, I'll be done."

She thumped me in the back of the head and jumped over the couch, right beside me. I scooted over, as did the nicer twin, giving Sam room to fit her hammish butt.

Yes, I've looked at her butt. It doesn't really look like a ham, but it's just as nice as a ham. I'm a guy. Sue me.

So, there I was, fixing a laptop while squished between two blond haired and beautiful twins on a couch with no adult supervision.

I'm not the type of guy that curses. I rarely curse in my own head, and even less frequently outside of my head.

But seriously, I can't help it this time.

Fuckin' a.

- - - - - -

Saturday, Day 7 of The Mess

- - - - - -

At least Melanie wasn't in his little triangle of doom, otherwise known as The Mess. Melanie had thankfully not tried to go back out with him, which he was very happy for. Freddie wouldn't have known what to do had she really been as interested in him as she had been during her last visit.

Her infatuation with him would have probably ended up badly. For him. It would have things more confusing. So he was thankful for just being friends with her.

His smile came back when the next song came on. There was a serious story behind it.

- - - - - -

Monday, Day 2 of The Mess

- - - - - -

"So, I was thinking that we could have you on the show Saturday, Mel. I guess it would be funny to see how fans react to seeing two of us. I dunno. What do you think Fredchick?"

"Mmm."

"Oh, so you want to do a caveman bit again, Freddie?" I think that was Melanie. I was starting to feel unsure. I was almost done with the laptop. Wait, I GOT IT! IT'S DONE!

I pumped my fists in the air in victory.

"WOO!"

Sam and Mel looked at me like I was crazy.

"I fixed it."

I was blushing and just as embarrassed as I was thirty minutes ago. Thankfully, Sam's phone started ringing, giving me a reprieve from whatever rude comment she could come up with. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, and found Melanie hugging me. I awkwardly returned it with the arm that was closest. Sam yakked away, and then ended the call.

"Carly says it's time to rehearse. Let's go."

The meaner twin grabbed my arm the second I put Mel's laptop down and pulled me with her outside while Melanie came behind us, locking the door. The bus stop closest to us was empty and lonely, and it thankfully only took a few minutes for the bus to get there. The bus ride was quiet, Sam sitting alone while Melanie sat and chilled with me.

She told me more about her and Sam's home life together, and a bit about their dad, who had divorced from their mom just due to the fact that they were growing further apart and didn't want to start fighting in front of either of them. Sadly, it seemed to me that neither of their parents were showing any signs of getting a steady relationship.

Kinda makes a good argument for people that support that whole "one true love" argument. I think it's sad. I didn't know what love was, but I'm sure that it was supposed to be what Sam's mom and dad were supposed to have.

I guess my mom and dad loved each other once. All I know is that my dad flunked out of college, got hooked on alcohol, and my mom took care of him until one night where he almost hit her. He didn't, thankfully, but she grabbed me and left.

Hahaha... I guess I should be used to be dragged around strong-willed women. I think I am, actually. The bus ride was really uneventful, and the three of us piled out at Bushwell. I sent a text to my mom telling her I was at Carly's.

When Melanie walked in Carly's home behind me, Carly (and sadly, Spencer) let out a girlish squeal and they both ran to hug her. Sam and I both looked at each other, looked back at the scene, then back at each other, before shaking our heads.

- - - - - - - - -

Gosh, guys, I'm so sorry this took so long! You see, what happened was was that I got sick on Friday. I felt good enough to push out those chapters, but once I did, I guess I was really drained and it made me sicker. I could barely focus on reading anything, let alone writing anything. Then, yesterday, I ended up more or less guilted by my mom to go with my dad to stay in Danville, Kentucky! I've been here a few times already, so I'm somewhat familiar with the places around me. I'm gonna be up here until about Thursday. Anyways, I was gonna have this chapter up Tuesday, but the laptop I brought wasn't the one I had thought I brought, and was more or less defunct.

So, I managed to get one of my dad's laptops and I went to work at about 10 AM, and it's about 3 PM now. Yup yup yup!

Anyways, I've brought along one of the major plot twists, which would happen to be Melanie. No, Sam didn't go back to school shopping, she was really getting Melanie. She just felt like saying that. Well, Melanie's gonna sorta be someone his age that he can associate with better that isn't Carly or Sam. Well, that's overlooking the fact that she's just Carly in Sam's body. But still, Freddie's gonna find that Melanie is going to be a big help in what he decides to do.

Also, I have really good news! I've got a good bit of the story plotted out, and though it's subject to change, the story has an ending.

The best part? None of you will probably see it coming, and it leaves the fic open for a sequel! YAY SEQUEL!

Oh, and if you want a little bit more involvment with the story, please, give me some songs to put in the story so I can have more Future Fredster! REVIEW!


End file.
